Consider Tzora, with a very friendly visitor center (perhaps try to schedule it with their terroir thing, includes vineyard tour and tastings)Tishbi with possibly the most diversified visitor center with a very nice vegeterian-kosher restaurant, choclate-wine pairing activity, generous wine tastings and good atmosphere.

Regarding Castel, indeed a recommended place to visit but last time I checked they only received visits when you (or a small group) buy a (12) case or more of the GV, if I'm not mistaken.

If you're up north (Adir et al) then going to Dalton and Galil Mountain is recommended. Both include tours for the wide public, beautiful (and different) scenery and generous tastings (sign up to Galil's members club online and get the tour for free)

Lior Yogev wrote:If you're up north (Adir et al) then going to Dalton and Galil Mountain is recommended. Both include tours for the wide public, beautiful (and different) scenery and generous tastings (sign up to Galil's members club online and get the tour for free)

Lior

Being a "Northerner," or, as another of the active members of our forum might say, a "Tzaphon-nic," I second what Lior says. Not only that, if you come to the Moshav Dalton Industrial Area, you can park your car and walk less than 5 minutes from the stylish modern Adir Winery Visitor Center for tasting and a delicious kosher breakfast including cheeses from their own goat dairy to the Dalton Winery Visitor Center, and then to the Rimon Winery Visitor Center (O.K -- O.K., it's not "wine"), and then (actually between Dalton & Rimon) to the Butterfly Brewery Visitor Center where you can taste the handcrafted product of this excellent Israeli Microbrewery.

As an aside, I just saw that someone on eBay is selling empty Butterfly Beer bottles for $7.95 + $9.00 shipping. That's better than I get (30 agorot for) returning the empty bottle.

Tell them Dr. Dan, the israelwinetaster.com man sent you. That, and $8 will get you a gallon of gas at any gas station in Israel.

30-50 wineries! And in how many days? 10, 15? Man I should call up two or three newspapers, such a marathon could make it to the news here although I seriously wonder what you would still be able to say when they'd interview you by the end of it...

30-50 wineries! And in how many days? 10, 15? Man I should call up two or three newspapers, such a marathon could make it to the news here although I seriously wonder what you would still be able to say when they'd interview you by the end of it...

im there 3 weeks, minus shabbat thats 18 days... we do 3 a day thats 54... GG where do you want to join us for ? i sure hope you'll join me for at least 15 of them

Considering your plan, I'd make sure to eat well in the morning and lunch, and spit everything you taste. From my experience, 2-3 wineries a day for a week can be rather exhausting to the body and mind.

Lior Yogev wrote:Considering your plan, I'd make sure to eat well in the morning and lunch, and spit everything you taste. From my experience, 2-3 wineries a day for a week can be rather exhausting to the body and mind.

I recently moved to the states. Do you have a designated driver for all these plans?For me drinking 1/2 a bottle and drinking the same amount as tastings is significantly different in terms of the alcoholic effect. And anyway, after consuming 2/3 bottle I don't think I can taste very well the next wines. That's just me, perhaps you can do better, but I still fail to see the point to "the more the better", especially since, as you mentioned, this is a vacation...

As regards the gas/wine quotient, it's hard not to spend more on gas than wine at $8/gallon. To bad we don't have more electric cars in Israel. Or should I say ANY electric cars to get us all the way up to our Golan Heights Winery, the Mecca of wine in this little land?